Dead or Alive: Beneath Erinoch Island
by Snafu the Great
Summary: Ryu Hayabusa is searching for his missing girlfriend and Shiden at Hayate's request. Upon arriving at Erinoch Island, he ventures into the catacombs, where he finds monsters, traps, and a secret worth killing for. Crossover with Will Harvey's The Immortal
1. Prologue

Dead or Alive: Beneath Erinoch Island

A Dead or Alive/The Immortal Crossover Fanfiction

By The Headcrook

The Headcrook's disclaimer: All characters, locations and other regarding Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden are the sole property of Tecmo, while the characters, locations and others regarding The Immortal are the property of Electronic Arts and its creator, Will Harvey.

Now, I've been a fan of Will Harvey's The Immortal ever since I was a kid and this is my first attempt to write a crossover combining the world of Erinoch City with the world of DOA and Ninja Gaiden. This is also my first true Ninja Gaiden fanfic taken from Ryu's POV.

Please note that this fanfic is slightly AU, since in this one, the Hayabusa village is rebuilt and most of Ryu's clan is still alive.

Prologue

Erinoch Island, 50 miles southeast of O-Shima Island...

After fighting more megalomaniacs, demons and evil corporations that I can shake a stick at, you would think that I would deserve a small break.

I guess I was wrong. No rest for the super-ninja.

Let me start from the beginning. My name is Ryu Hayabusa, of the Hayabusa clan. Aside from being a ninja, I also own a curio shop in Tokyo, an inheritance from my late father, along with his love for archeology and history.

Some might say that because of this, I could be a Japanese version of Indiana Jones...well, minus the bullwhip and the cool fedora.

I guess all this started following the last Dead or Alive tournament. Kasumi and I started dating and Hayate must have seen reason (either that or having your runaway of a sister's boyfriend peeved at him for sending ninja after her), reversed Genra's death sentence, allowing Kasumi to come back to the clan.

Ayane also made her peace with Kasumi, at my suggestion. There was too much bad blood between them surrounding the...'circumstances' surrounding Ayane's 'conception.' As the healing process continued, Kasumi decided to go on a training trip with her father to the Ryuku Islands.

That's where they were last seen. Hayate sent down a squad of Hajinmon ninja to bring them back, but they haven't been heard from since. That was over a week ago. It was Ayane who gave me the news, and Hayate asked me to go and look for the both of them. Leaving Kureha in charge of the shop (she works part-time when she isn't at the shrine), I took the next flight to the islands.

When I arrived at Kasari, I saw that Rachel was waiting for me. She told me that both Kasumi and Shiden were kidnapped and taken to a small island which the Ryukyuans considered to be cursed, given what had happened nearly 2000 years ago.

Turns out that the Vigoor Empire came across Erinoch Island years earlier, and had planned an expedition into the island, but was called off when I came through the empire. Rachel told me that about 2000 years earlier, the island was a paradise, and home to many indigenous tribes, the Ainu, the Anami, the Miyako and the Yaeyama. They built a city on the island, carved from the mountains itself.

But the city was well-known for its enchanted waters. Whoever drank them was given eternal youth. However, a ruthless Chinese warlord had heard about the waters and had sent his army to the island. The war lasted for three years. When it appeared that the warlord's army was going to win, the the loyalist came with a desperate plan. They summoned two dragons, which decimated both the warlord's forces and a number of the loyalists as well.

Realizing what they had done, the surviving loyalist used an ancient amulet which had a forbidden spell engraved on it to destroy the dragon...as well as the city and himself.

After that incident, the surviving tribes dispersed around Japan, and the island was abandoned. Over the years, people dared not to tread on its shores, because the island was cursed. There were rumors that people have seen Tengu and Shibuto inhabiting the island, but were dismissed as nothing more than a mere horror story.

When the Europeans were expelled from the country with the exception of the Dutch, the Portuguese discovered the island and tried to make it into a trading post. They were all slaughtered and the plan was abandoned. Then the Vigoor Empire found it and the search party sent in hasn't been heard from since.

Rachel and I reached the eastern end of O-Shima and after taking a boat out, we reached the island. However, given Rachel's powers as a Fiend Hunter, she could not enter. But I can. The path leading to the city was destroyed, meaning that I had to climb the steep cliff. Not a problem for a super ninja.

However, my ninja uniform was in the process of being repaired after my last mission and I'm dressed in a black tanktop, khaki pants and hiking boots. With only a knapsack slung over my shoulder, as well as several throwing stars and kunai, I started to climb the steep cliffside.

After an hour of climbing, I reached the summit I saw that from where I was at, the trail was long since destroyed, leaving nothing in its wake. Erinoch City was just ahead. And somewhere in the city, was Kasumi and Shiden.

The city isn't far now. Rachel told me that it was beautiful once, before the war and its destruction. It was true. Erinoch City was nothing more than a shadow of its former self. nothing more than a necropolis.

I walk though the gates as I felt a chill coming up my spine. Almost immediately, I knew this was going to happen, since Rachel warned me about this beforehand. Because of the dark aura surrounding Erinoch, using my offensive and teleport ninpo would be ineffective unless I found some ninpo scrolls.

I looked around. Ancient Heian architecture was evident...although the city was in ruins. Walking through the city streets I took into the destruction that had been wrought on this place. The city was completely dead, as it has been and would never rise again. From what I hear, the Demon Clan, any surviving Vigoor soldiers and even the locals consider this place cursed and I really don't blame them.

But Kasumi was in this city somewhere.

That's when I noticed something on the ground as I walked through what was the town square. There were signs of a struggle, but most importantly, I found something that showed me that I was on the right track.

Kasumi's tanto. The weapon was pointing to a door. I took it as a sign that she was still alive...I hope. I picked up the tanto and stuck it into my belt and moved towards the door.

When I opened the door, I saw that there was nothing but a flight of stairs leading down. I could be walking to my own death, but if that may be, I will go out fighting, like a true warrior.

I walked down the stairs, until I reached a door at the bottom of the stairs. I stopped for a moment to calm my nerves. Pulling out a picture from my pocket, I looked at it. It was of Kasumi, smiling, wearing a summer dress, the snapshot taken at Hamarikyu Gardens. Her smiling face calmed me down and gave me courage.

I opened the door, and entered the room.

Little did I know that I entered from reality and into the surreal.


	2. Chapter 1: The First Level

_**Chapter One – The First Level  
**_

As soon as I closed the door behind me, I heard the lock click. When I tried to open the door, it wouldn't budge.

"Great. I'm stuck," I muttered. Whoever it was didn't want me to leave. That gut feeling I had that I just stepped into something more dangerous came back to me as I gave up on the door.

Turning around, I looked at the room that I was in. It was slightly bigger than a prison cell, with a round table, and another door. On the table was a lit candle and a skull.

And I wasn't alone.

There was another person inside the room with me. From the clothing, he was a Hajinmon ninja. As I tuned to the man, the guard scampered back. "Don't come any closer!" he warned,pointing his sword in a threatening fashion.

"Calm down," I replied. "Where's Kasumi and Master Shiden?"

The guard calmed down somewhat as he lowered his sword. "Master...Master Hayabusa. Forgive me. I couldn't protect her."

"Where is Kasumi?"

"She was taken. Her and Master Shiden. She is many floors below in these dungeons." He began to pace the room. "If we don't find her, Master Hayate will have my hide."

As the panicky ninja continued to pace, I noticed something on the floor.

A darkened tile, raised like a button...just as the guard stepped on it.

**[Umm...it would be a good idea to move!]**

Instinct told me to jump back, and good thing I did. The ground erupted from underneath the ninja as he found himself launched into the air, screaming. Now, I know I'm not crazy, but I just saw a giant worm appear from the hole, its width even bigger than Bass Armstrong, appeared and the man disappeared into its maws before sliding back into the hole. The only thing left of him was his weapon, a sword.

'That was a bloodworm!' My mind was screaming. 'That was a goddamn bloodworm!'

I thought that Erinoch bloodworms were only legend. Looks like I was wrong.

But I wasn't concerned with the weapon, mind you. I was in shock as to what had happened. A fucking bloodworm had made a meal out of the Hajinmon ninja. I crouched down and picked up the sword. It was a basic ninjaken, lightweight, but incredibly tough, and a reliable weapon for a ninja of any rank to have.

Too bad I decided to leave my Dragon Sword back at the shop.

While I inched my way around the hole, wary that another bloodworm may end my mission before if began, I felt an increase in heat as I turned around.

The candle flared up for several moments, then died out. What a ripoff.

That instinct kicked in once again as I jumped onto the table, just as the bloodworm behind me pounced. And missed It was smaller than the other one, but just as deadly. And hungry.

When it pounced again, I sidestepped, then brought the sword down, severing its head. One thing that Rachel told me about bloodworms is that they are enticed by the smell of bait and blood. And I knew that the longer I stayed in that room, the worse it would be for me. I jumped over the body, opened the door and slammed it behind me.

I was in another room. It was much bigger than the last one, way bigger. Then I noticed the slain ninja in front of me. His head was several feet away, the victim of a brutal decapitation. It was then that I noticed its executioner.

A Tengu warrior. In his hands, he was holding a rusted battleaxe.

Without a word of warning, he raised it and brought it down on me. I rolled out of the way, just as the deadly weapon took off the body's leg.

Now, it seems that I only fight hand-to-hand, but if the situation calls for it, I can use weapons. I slashed upwards with the blade. The bladed part of the axe propelled itself into the ceiling and embedded itself there. As the Tengu looked in shock at its destroyed weapon, allowing me to perform a horizontal slash at its throat.

Black blood spilled out, having severed the creature's jugular veins, covering its chest. The Tengu gurgled as it fell over, blood staining the floor, its body twitching before it became still.

"I still got it," I mused before going back to the body. I know that I shouldn't be stealing from the dead, but in this case, I will make an exception.

The first item I found surprised me. It was a ring, a simple band made out of the finest gold. Inside the ring, was an inscription in Japanese.

"'To Shiden, I will love you always. Ayame.' How touching," I mused as I pocketed the ring. The last item was something that put a smile on my face.

A scroll, containing the incantations for flare ninpo. The downside to it was that it was good for only three shots. I chanted the incantation. Once I was finished, the scroll broke apart as if it was sand and I felt the power rushing to my hands.

My ears caught the sounds of another battle taking place from my left. It was another Tengu and a man wearing the uniform of a Vigoor soldier with short dark hair and a mustache. The Tengu had a spiked mace in his hands while the other man held a short sword.

I decided that maybe a friend would be useful, so I aimed and let loose with a Flare ninpo blast. The Tengu didn't know what hit him as my attack found its mark, burning the flesh and muscles from its back until a nice portion of its ribcage and spine was shown before falling face down to the floor.

The man turned to me. "Thanks, but I didn't need your help."

"You might need to repay the favor one day," I replied. "Who are you, anyway?"

"Just a soldier in the Vigoorian Armed Forces. Name's Max," the man replied. "I'm looking for my comrades. From what I hear, they are captive many levels below. The entrance to the lower levels is hidden."

"Wait a minute," I butted in. "I'm looking for Princess Kasumi. She is here, as well as her father."

Max shrugged his broad shoulders. "I am sorry, but I have not seen them." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. "This will unlock that chest," he said, pointing to a small treasure chest in the corner. "We will meet again."

He then vanished in a puff of smoke. I looked at the key, the back at the small chest. "Oh, what the Hell," I mused to myself. I opened the chest and found a several items inside.

The first item was a small coin bag. Inside was 20 gold talents, the currency of Erinoch Island, about the size of an American quarter with an imprint of a dragon's head on the coins. Next to it was a small flask of water. I wasn't thirsty at the moment, but it may come in handy. Next to the coins was a bag of bait. Given what I had seen with the bloodworms, I decided to keep that pouch tightly sealed.

Next was a map warning him of pit traps in the next rooms. The last thing that caught my attention was a bag of foul-smelling spores.

Having the bag of bait was bad enough but those spores. They smell bad something fierce. These kind of spores, are basically a crude version of a biological weapon. If planted in fertile soil, they would rapidly grow into poisonous mushrooms and their spores would kill anything in a thirty-foot radius.

I took the items and placed them inside the knapsack. There was a door nearby the chest, but that was locked. The other door was located on the other end, near when I killed that Tengu. That door was unlocked so I stepped inside.

A long corridor with another door on the opposite end. After the door, there was a small opening, in which another Tengu at the other end. I can tell that he was standing guard over something.

I barely passed the second door when he barked out to me in Japanese: "Stop! Don't come any closer!"

"Fair enough," I replied before sending a fireball at the Tengu. The flare caught the creature square in the chest and ignited, leaving nothing but a smoking hole in its chest as it fell, twitching as I pilfered it of its few possessions.

The guard was guarding more talents, so I took those. Along with the items I found were a door key and a sealed note. Curious as to what the note read, I opened it. It was in cuneiform, but fortunately, I could read that as well. You'd be surprised of all the tricks you can pick up.

"Beware of shades. They are invisible, dangerous creatures that favor the darkness. Under the torchlight, they cast a shadow by which you can detect and avoid them." I sighed. "Great. More monsters."

It was in the next room that I experienced my first trap. I looked at the layout of the room. Random tiles seem to fall and rise back to their default positions at will. What worried me the most was the row of skulls lining the right wall, jaws open.

From the map with the traps on it, the door was around the corner, but those skulls were what worried me. And I think I saw enough adventure movies to know that something bad happens if you step on a bad tile and the last thing I wanted to do was reenact some screwed up booby trap.

As I looked around the room hoping for a safe way around, I noticed something. The tiles along the wall with the skulls on them didn't move, so I decided to take a chance. Walking along the tiles, I thought I was scot-free, until I got halfway through, I stepped on a bad tile.

"Aw, crap," I cursed as I hit the deck.

Turns out those skulls were more than just show. They were firing arrows into the room. I had to crawl in order to get to the other door. As I pulled the door open, several arrows caught the door and one of them nicked my arm. Nothing serious, but it will sting like hell for the next couple of hours.

Back in another small room. I looked at the map. Yup. Trapdoor. Avoid and head to the next door.

Darkness was what greeted me when I entered the next area. Remembering the warning about the shades, I looked around and made out several oil lamps lining the walls. I turned to the closest one and fired off my last Flare, and something amazing happened.

Upon lighting the lamp, it ricocheted off the wall and lit the other lamps in the room. The room itself was about as big as a banquet hall. I made out two shadows, closing in on my location.

The traps were lined up in a way that I was forced to take the long way around, and the way I had to go was blocked by a shade.

With a yell, I leaped into the air, sailing towards the closest shade. My foot connected with something and I heard the shade go down. Jumping over its body, I ran along the wall until I saw something on the floor.

An amulet, bigger than a silver dollar. Without thinking, I pocketed it and made my way to the other door.

But the other shade was closing in and its partner had recovered from my attack. I guess the shades didn't get the memo about this room filled with traps, since one of them had fallen in. Along the wall, was another scroll.

Picking that up, I saw that it was a charm spell for the spirits known as the Will O' Wisps, beings that attacked living flesh. I shoved that into the sack, and bolted for the door. It was locked, but thankfully, I had the key.

Slamming the door behind me, I locked it, just as the shade came to the door. Seeing that it was locked, it tried to bang on it, but the door held. I took this moment to inspect the amulet I found. It was about the size of an American silver dollar, made of bronze. On one side was an image of a dragon. When I flipped it over, I saw some ancient writing on it.

'Runes,' I thought. 'Best not to read them out loud, since whoever utters the incantation incinerates everything inside this dungeon/'

Meanwhile, the shade had given up on trying to break the door down and had left, since the fire had went out in the last room. I noticed a pile of hay spread out so it would make an impromptu bed. The climb to Erinoch and fighting my way though the rooms left me pretty beat, so I decided to take a little nap. I took off my shirt and folded it into a makeshift pillow. Placing that under my head, I closed my eyes and went into a dreamless slumber.

I must have slept for a good couple of hours, since I woke up feeling refreshed. I looked at my arm where I got tagged by the stray arrow. It was a shallow cut, nothing serious, so I left it alone. Grabbing the sword and the knapsack, I slipped my shirt back on as I took notice of something on the ground.

A gem. Blood Rubies are valued in for their uncanny beauty. I tried to pick it up, but the damn thing wouldn't budge. That's when I noticed the small shaft of light coming in through a crack in the wall.

Next to that, was a little carved inscription. Fortunately, the words were in Japanese, albeit a much cruder form of the language. Bless you, Oyaji for making me take those ancient language classes, since I could read it. It was a riddle.

I read the words to myself. "'Deep in the immortal Dragon's Lair, once in one Millennium, the Portal opens to the Stair, when a single Gem greets the Sun. Mechanism tripped every thousand years by light.'"

It then hit me. Once every thousand years, the sun's light will touch the embedded gem. A thousand years is something that I don't have.

An idea came to me. In an instant, I had the amulet in my hand. Positioning it to the light, it reflected back to the wall. It was then the matter of reflecting the light to the gem, which I did with no problem. There was a click and part of the floor slid back, revealing a ladder.

Without hesitating, I climbed down.


End file.
